Hon. Patrick Brazeau introduced Bill S-254, An Act to amend the Food and Drugs Act (warning label on alcoholic beverages).

(Bill read first time.)

The Hon. the Speaker: Honourable senators, when shall this bill be read the second time?

(On motion of Senator Boisvenu, bill placed on the Orders of the Day for second reading two days hence.)

Hon. Peter M. Boehm: Thank you very much, Senator Downe, for your question and your ongoing advocacy on what is clearly an important matter. I would also like to thank you for giving me the proverbial heads-up that you were going to ask the question.

Colleagues, I cannot and will not speak for the government. As you know, Parliament plays no role in negotiating free trade agreements or any other treaty for that matter. However, transparency from the government is important in these matters so Parliament can play its roles of reviewing implementation legislation and holding the government to account. Of course, the committee that I have the honour to chair has a mandate to examine treaties and international agreements. The last such study was on the bill to implement the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement, or CUSMA, the new NAFTA, in 2020.

In response to your question on the agenda of the committee, over the next year, I anticipate a very busy schedule, especially after more than two years of pandemic restrictions. The committee will continue its major study on Canada’s foreign service — a fit-for-purpose examination — and elements of the foreign policy machinery within Global Affairs Canada. It will continue its comprehensive review of the provisions and operation of the Justice for Victims of Corrupt Foreign Officials Act, otherwise known as the Sergei Magnitsky Law, and of the Special Economic Measures Act, a review mandated by section 16 of the Sergei Magnitsky Law five years after its entry into force. The committee will continue to regularly hold meetings on the situation in Ukraine.

Of course, there are other topics members have expressed the wish to study. The committee also had legislation referred to it just last week, this being Senator Ataullahjan’s Bill S-225, the cluster munitions investment prohibition act. There will likely be more legislation, and if history is any guide, the committee can expect parts of the 2023 budget implementation act in the spring as well.

Related to this specific issue, several members of the committee, including myself, have expressed an interest in studying the progress of existing free trade agreements, or FTAs, because while Canada is exceptionally good at negotiating FTAs, we do not do a very good job of implementing them once they are in force. As you know, on March 24 of this year, Canada and the United Kingdom launched negotiations toward a bilateral free trade agreement in order to replace the Continuity Agreement that is currently in force. I note that before this, when Global Affairs Canada held public consultations between March and April of 2021, Global Affairs Canada received 22 individual submissions and a petition by the Canadian Alliance of British Pensioners with signatures representing 1,266 people, requesting that Canada seek to secure a commitment from the United Kingdom to provide annual pension increases to U.K. state pensioners living in Canada.

In my peripheral knowledge — which is rapidly fading over the past ten years — I do know that the issue was raised by the Harper government, probably after your letter to the late Minister Flaherty. It was also raised with the United Kingdom by the Trudeau government. But to the best of my knowledge, obviously, we do not have any results.

I will not commit to any committee studies on the floor of the Senate, obviously, until we can consult with both the steering committee —

Some Hon. Senators: Nay.

The Hon. the Speaker: All those opposed to the motion will please say, “Nay.”

The Hon. the Speaker: I am sorry to interrupt you, Senator Boehm, but the time for Question Period has expired.

Senators, I would like to make a comment on Question Period. On a normal day, we can get up to 10 or 11 senators asking questions. Today we’re down to six. As senators are very much aware, when we have a minister present for Question Period, questions are limited to one minute, and answers to two minutes. If there were an agreement among senators to do that for regular Question Period, I would be very happy to enforce it.

[Translation]

The Hon. the Speaker: Do we have agreement on a bell?

Some Hon. Senators: Yay.

Some Hon. Senators: One hour.

Hon. Donald Neil Plett (Leader of the Opposition): Senator Gold, once again my question concerns the infamous $6,000 River Suite listed on the invoice from the Corinthia Hotel in London for Canada’s delegation to the Queen’s funeral.

As it turns out, leader, the hotel room billed on the invoice at £4,800 may in fact be costing Canadians more than the original presumed $6,000. As Chris Selley points out in his article, the value of the room with the conversion on the actual day of the funeral comes out to C$7,300.

Leader, it was too much to ask of Canadians at $6,000, and it is certainly too much to ask of them at $7,300. Your government still remains silent on whom the occupant of the luxury room was.

Leader, we now definitely know that it was not the Governor General, nor was it former prime minister Stephen Harper. Can you tell us who stayed in the room?

Senator Plett: If you were misunderstood. Either you apologize or you don’t.

The Hon. the Speaker: Honourable senators, I wish to draw your attention to the presence in the gallery of Niko Brown. He is the guest of the Honourable Senator Coyle.

On behalf of all honourable senators, I welcome you to the Senate of Canada.

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Thank you for repeating your question from yesterday. Unfortunately, in the interests of those who have other questions to ask, no doubt of insignificant importance compared to your question, I have nothing further to add to my answer.

Hon. Marie-Françoise Mégie: My question is for the Government Representative in the Senate, Senator Gold. As an immigrant, I am delighted that the Government of Canada is planning to increase its immigration targets. We know that, demographically, a population can grow in three ways: through increased fertility, and we will give that some thought; through decreased mortality, which we are already seeing; or through increased immigration. Our current population growth is primarily the result of immigration, which continues to shape who we are as Canadians. However, from one census to the next, the proportion of francophones in Canada is shrinking. What percentage of French-speaking immigrants has our government set as a target for Canada to become a truly bilingual country again?

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Thank you for the question. Ensuring the vitality of francophone communities outside Quebec continues to be a key priority for the Government of Canada, and the government remains committed to achieving the 4.4% target for French-speaking immigrants outside Quebec by 2023. The government continued to strengthen the Francophone Immigration Strategy by implementing targeted initiatives, such as dedicated streams for francophone candidates as part of the temporary residence to permanent residence pathway for essential workers and recent international graduates already in Canada.

The government has consulted widely on issues related to francophone immigration outside Quebec, including through a working group with the Fédération des communautés francophones et acadienne du Canada, to jointly examine the possibility of a target beyond 2023, taking into consideration all suggestions as it continues to advance its work. The government looks forward to continuing to work with its partners to advance common interests, taking into account the role that immigration plays in supporting population growth and the vitality of francophone communities.

Senator Gold: Thank you for the question. I will follow up with the government to see if there is anything that can be done about this.

[English]

Hon. Bev Busson: Honourable senators, I am heartbroken as I stand today to pay tribute to Constable Shaelyn Yang, who was murdered in Burnaby, British Columbia, on October 18, and whose regimental funeral is today.

I speak to you as a colleague, an ex-police officer and mother of an RCMP officer as well. One death in the line of duty is one too many. Sadly, as I speak, I know that this will not be the last tribute that will be given for a fallen officer who will be killed in the line of duty. It is hard to explain why anyone would risk their personal safety on a daily basis, knowing that death or serious injury is just one bad call away.

Let me tell you about Constable Shaelyn Yang: She was only 31 years old when she died, and had so much to live for. She was a wife, a daughter, a sister and a friend to many. She was the poster child of everything you could wish for in a police officer. She was educated, came from a diverse background and had a kind and compassionate personality.

She was born in Taiwan and came to Canada with her family to chase the dream of getting a Western education and becoming a Canadian. She was a University of British Columbia, or UBC, graduate and could have chosen any career, but she always wanted to become a member of the RCMP. As a student, she volunteered for Victim Services at the Richmond detachment, where she was highly regarded by all those who had worked with her.

She graduated from Depot in December 2019 and was posted to the Burnaby detachment. Soon afterward, she joined the special team, working with the weakest and most vulnerable within the mental health and homeless outreach program at Burnaby detachment. It was this generous and selfless calling that ultimately ended her short but important life — at the very hands of someone she was trying to help. She died bravely trying to save the life of a city Parks worker, who was alongside her, as well as her own life.

Colleagues, I have heard comments that this is what the police sign up for, but I can tell you, personally, that this is not what they sign up for, any more than a politician signs up to be harassed, attacked or assassinated. They sign up to make a difference and never imagine they will be a name and a regimental number on a cold stone memorial wall.

Colleagues, when a police officer dies in the line of duty, we often observe a moment of silence, as well as speak highly of their sacrifice, how we respect their role and hope this will never happen again. I urge you to keep Constable Yang in your thoughts and prayers the next time you speak about the police. We can have a positive effect on the narrative of the unique nature of policing in Canada, and help guard our collective futures. Words matter. Our words matter.

Speaking of words, I would like you to consider the words of a handwritten note left by Constable Yang’s police partners on the fence near where she died:

I hope you heard us coming. I drove as fast as I could. You were not alone. I’m sorry I didn’t make it in time. We’ll take the watch from here. Rest in Peace.

Hon. Michèle Audette: Good afternoon, senators.

[Editor’s Note: Senator Audette spoke in Innu.]

I am proud to be a mother, but I am also proud that more and more men and male senators are walking an important path when it comes to protecting women.

I rise today to tell you about an important day. On October 18, a very large family from across Canada, the Moose Hide Campaign family, reminded us of the importance of protecting women, girls and, of course, children.

[English]

As you may already know, the Moose Hide Campaign is a small, Indigenous-led organization that is doing so much for women and children. They fight every day against violence. Last October, I was blessed to meet the family, including Paul, Raven, Sage, and, of course, the mother, to better understand the importance of their campaign.

Also, I witnessed 10 men fasting and doing ceremony on Parliament Hill that one day. They all got together: Canadian, Québécois and Indigenous. I want to say thank you to them: Minister Marc Miller, MP Mike Morrice, MP Gary Vidal, MP Taylor Bachrach, MP Vance Badawey, MP Jaime Battiste, MP Marc Dalton, MP Dan Vandal and MP Yasir Naqvi.

Of course, there is one special thank you — a tshinashkumitin, a wela’lin — to a man, a friend, a mentor and a senator, Brian Francis. He spent the entire day fasting during a Senate sitting. I say thank you. Thank you so much because I know every effort that you do is for Sheshka and all the women and boys that are here. I say tshinashkumitin.

I want to say thank you, Senator Manning. I was listening carefully to your beautiful speech yesterday, and also Senator Boisvenu. We need warriors. We need men walking beside us women.

Hon. Ratna Omidvar: My question is for the chair of the Internal Economy Committee, Senator Moncion, regarding interpreters and headsets.

We all know there was a really unfortunate incident two weeks ago. The members of the steering committee at the Social Affairs Committee had a discussion about it. What strategies is the Internal Economy Committee taking to ensure the proper quality of headsets and interpretation?

My understanding of your procedure is that witnesses are given a choice: Either they purchase their own headset and request reimbursement for it, or the Senate can ship them a headset. My understanding is that the latter is not used very often. In comparison, in the House of Commons, every witness who is called to testify at committee is automatically shipped a set of headphones.

Do you think that the Senate Finance and Procurement Directorate and not the clerks should adopt this practice of sending witnesses the proper headsets to ensure proper quality of translation and the health of our interpreters?

Also, what else are you planning to do to keep the witnesses and interpreters safe?